Bobby Kotick To Consider Resigning If Workplace Issues Aren’t Fixed Soon [UPDATE]

Update: 11/22/21 7:20 a.m. Central: As per the Wall Street Journal via GamesIndustry.biz, Bobby Kotick held a gathering with apical executives to sermon the authorities of Activision Blizzard successful the look of caller contention and allegations. The CEO told his colleagues he’d see resigning if the countermeasures successful spot to combat the developers’ criminally-toxic workplace civilization didn’t hole issues “with speed.” This quality comes days aft institution shareholders called connected Kotick to resign. Consequently, immoderate of the executives that Kotick conferenced with past week emphasized that a fig of unit members privation him gone. A “workplace excellence committee” is being implemented, but whether oregon not the Activision Blizzard enactment conditions volition alteration for the better, oregon if Kotick volition beryllium existent to his connection astir stepping down, remains to beryllium seen.

Update: 11/18/21 2:00 p.m. Central: We person learned done the reporting of Shannon Liao astatine The Washington Post that Activision Blizzard employees person begun signing an unfastened petition for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign from his presumption astatine the company. At the clip of this update, implicit 500 workers person enactment their names connected the petition, which reads, "We, the undersigned, nary longer person assurance successful the enactment of Bobby Kotick arsenic the CEO of Activision Blizzard." The group's request is succinct and simple, saying, "We inquire that Bobby Kotick region himself arsenic CEO of Activision Blizzard, and that shareholders beryllium allowed to prime the caller CEO without the input of Bobby, who we are alert owns a important information of the voting rights of the shareholders." According to information from 2020, Activision Blizzard employs determination successful the ballpark of 9,500 people, which means this petition presently represents implicit 5% of the workforce.

Original Story: Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published an extended study detailing grounds that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was alert for years of the company’s agelong past of intersexual misconduct. The study besides points to Kotick withholding accusation astir these events from the committee of directors and surfaces maltreatment allegations levied astatine Kotick himself. You tin work the afloat communicative here, but the revelations sparked an industry-wide outcry that resulted successful implicit 100 Activision Blizzard employees staging an impromptu walkout yesterday demanding Kotick’s resignation. It present appears that a radical of shareholders is echoing the aforesaid sentiment. 

The Washington Post published a communicative revealing that respective shareholders, led by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group, person penned a associated missive to Activision’s committee of directors requesting Kotick to measurement down. The missive besides asks for the resignation of 2 of the board’s longest-tenured members, Brian Kelly and Robert Morgado. Kelly, who joined the institution successful 1995, serves arsenic president of the board. Morgado has been with Activision since 1997 and acts arsenic pb autarkic director. 

These shareholders person requested Kotick, Kelly, and Morgado resign by December 31. If they bash not, the radical vows not to ballot for the reelection of existent committee members during adjacent June’s yearly shareholder’s meeting. The SOC tells the Post that existent Activision enactment has repeatedly failed to foster a harmless moving situation for each employees and that the institution needs “a reset fastener connected the board.” Among their replacements, the radical wishes to name astatine slightest 1 non-executive Activision Blizzard worker and wants a much divers committee overall.

Several concern groups person signed the missive and, arsenic a whole, relationship for 4.8 cardinal owned shares of Activision's astir 779 million full outstanding shares.  SOC Investment Group is simply a steadfast that works with union-sponsored pension funds and, successful its ain words, "holds corporations and their enactment accountable for irresponsible and unethical firm behaviour and excessive enforcement pay". The SOC has previously opposed Kotick's important income, which is 1 of the highest among U.S. executives. 

It’s worthy noting that Activision’s committee of directors issued a connection yesterday successful effect to the WSJ’s report, saying it “remains assured that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention.” Kotick himself sent a transcribed video message to Activision Blizzard employees calling the WSJ's study "inaccurate and misleading."

[Source: The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal via GamesIndustry.biz]